CENTER STAGE

DON'T GIVE YOUR REGARDS TO BROADWAY-THESE MIDWEST THEATERS STEAL THE SHOW.

- WRITER JACQUELINE KEHOE

You can snag cheaper tickets to preview performances of A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theater.

There's nothing like stepping out of the cold and into the warm glow of a theater, trading snow boots for dress shoes and screens for the stage.

Across the Midwest, it's a veritable holiday tradition: Take the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been delighting audiences for 51 years, generation after generation.

And I have an up-close view. Thanks to the deep thrust in the 1,100-seat house, I'm mere feet from the stage—the Ghosts of Christmas dazzle, dance, and even decay right before me.

“It's a journey of the soul,” says Addie Gorlin-Han, the show's director three times running and associate producer at the Guthrie. She describes the spectacle as children's theater for adults and adult theater for children. “Too often, we talk down to kids,” she says, “and too often, we don't ask adults to use the muscles of their imagination.”

That balance has clearly gifted the show staying power, and folks come from across the continent to see the Guthrie's musical, marvelous interpretation. But they're drawn by the familiar, hopeful story, too. The lessons Scrooge learns—compassion, generosity, the importance of community—resonate now more than ever.

If anything unites Midwest theater, that might be it: community. From historic venues that launched Hollywood legends to cutting-edge companies championing new voices, the theaters showcased here represent the region's most compelling mix of artistic excellence and cultural significance. Plus they have that distinctive Midwestern warmth that turns a night out into something magical, meaningful, and merry.

CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE CLEVELAND